Navajo Tacos with Quick Fry Bread

Have you ever had a Navajo taco?? They are truly delicious! I have another recipe for Navajo tacos on this blog, but it uses yeast risen bread dough and this recipe is the quick bread version which uses baking powder. Both are extremely tasty. Fried bread and taco fillings. How can you go wrong really? I probably only make this about once a year, because it involves deep frying and I just don't do that all the time, but whenever I do make these my kids are so happy. And any leftover fry bread can be slathered with butter and honey, which is also amazingly delicious!

Navajo Tacos with Quick Fry Bread

Fry Bread:
4 cups flour
2 tablespoons baking powder
2 teaspoons salt
2 cups milk
vegetable or peanut oil for deep frying

Toppings:
1-2 lbs seasoned taco meat
large can refried beans
1 small can El Pato tomato sauce
shredded cheese
guacamole
shredded lettuce
chopped tomato
chopped green onion or red onion
sour cream

Directions for Fry Bread:
In a stand mixer  (or by hand) combine flour, baking powder, salt, and milk. Knead until dough comes together. You may need to add a little more flour so the dough isn't too sticky. Turn out dough onto a floured surface and knead until smooth add flour as needed. Cover with a towel and let rest for 5 minutes.

Pour enough oil into a heavy deep skillet so that the oil is 1 1/2 inches deep. Heat the oil to 375 degrees.

Divide the dough into 12- 20 pieces depending on how big you want your fry bread (I ended up making about 18). Roll out dough with a rolling pin to about 1/4 inch thickness ovals.

Fry the bread, about 2-3 at a time, until golden, then flip until the other side is golden brown. Drain on paper towels. Top fry bread with refried beans (how to prepare them below), then taco meat and any other toppings. Eat right away. We like to have the leftover fry bread for dessert with butter and honey - yum!

Directions for Refried Beans:
In a saucepan combine refried beans from the can with about 1/2 a can of the El Pato. Stir and heat until it loosens. You might add a little more El Pato until you get the desired consistency. Add a handful of shredded cheese (maybe 1/2 - 1 cup) and heat through until the cheese melts. Serve this spread on the fry bread before topping with other toppings.